to have changed. >> reporter: romney's post- debate gains are across the board. he trails the president by one point. women say they have changeed their view of romney. he's up six points while the president is down 9. and romney has gained among independents who changed their view of him while, again, the president is down. >> romney proved a lot with this debate and stood toe-to- toe with the president. his favorable image improved sharply. >> reporter: the ad war is heating up. the producers of secret service mestreet asked the obama campaign to take down an ad featuring big bird. >> big bird. big bird,. >> reporter: the romney campaign is hitting back with new spots attacking the president's record on spending. >> obama's four deficits are the four largest in history. >> reporter: with the debate performance showing up in the polls, it's putting more importance on the next two debates to come and looking ahead to tonight, both president obama and mitt romney are campaigning in ohio this evening. the president in columbus across the state, mitt romney near you